Advertisement

The unheralded delights of Northamptonshire, England's most underrated county

Oundle - istock
Oundle - istock

Where does Darth Vader buy his boots? The Sith Lord, who presumably has very little time for casual window-shopping while trying to ‘bring order to the galaxy’,  goes direct to the shoe-making capital of the world – Northampton.

In fact, a prototype of the black wax calf leather jackboots still remains at the Horace Batten workshop in Ravensthorpe. “It just looks like a dusty old boot on the shelf,” Managing Director Emma Batten, granddaughter of Horace, who made the intergalactic stomping gear for actor David Prowse, told me during a recent visit. “Except they’re ginormous.”

Shoes have left a Size 14 imprint on Northamptonshire’s history and identity. “Footwear’s been made in Northampton and the county for over 900 years. Firms traded shoes across the UK and exported all over the world,” explains Nick Gordon, Cultural Services Manager at Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, which houses the world’s largest collection of shoe heritage, with 12,000 shoes, from Egyptian footwear to thigh-high boots made at Tricker’s, the Northampton factory where Kinky Boots was set and filmed.

Many factories closed during the Thatcher era, but plenty of renowned shoemakers still work across Northamptonshire. In the upcoming Bond film No Time To Die, Daniel Craig will be running around in suede chukka boots and black Derby shoes from Crockett & Jones, whose footwear he also wore in Spectre, while Pierce Brosnan wore shoes from Church’s in GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough, both Northampton companies. The iconic Dr Martens also still have their headquarters in the county.

But there’s far more to this understated, underrated region than shoes. “The county has a huge amount to offer, including some of the most beautiful countryside in the UK,” says Gordon. “Many locations have played a pivotal role in the country’s history, from the First Barons’ War, which led to the creation of the Magna Carta, to the Wars of the Roses and the English Civil War. There are so many fantastic places to visit, including ancient churches, country parks and the UK’s largest collection of stately homes.”

Shoe musuem, Northampton - istock
Shoe musuem, Northampton - istock

One of Northamptonshire’s best-known places to visit is Silverstone, home of the British Grand Prix. “Silverstone and the surrounding area is the epicentre of global motorsports,” says Sally Reynolds, CEO of Silverstone Heritage Limited, the driving force behind the Silverstone Experience (silverstone-experience.co.uk), a £20 million, high-tech museum, which the Duke of Sussex and Lewis Hamilton opened back in March.

“Silverstone’s known around the world. It has over 900,000 visitors per year. People often think Silverstone’s just Formula One, but it’s busy every single weekend of the year with teams or events. The countryside around Silverstone is also beautiful, with lovely country hotels,” Reynolds adds. “There’s a lot to Northampton… All the historic houses, like Althorp (once home to Princess Diana). It’s a place people tend to drive through on their way to somewhere else but they’d be surprised by how many great places there are here.”

James Miller, Chairman of the Surprise Northamptonshire Project agrees. “People tend to whip past Northampton on the M1,” he told me. “That road keeps the county quiet, but it also keeps it anonymous. There’s also a sense that Northampton gets on with life very quietly. But if you bring people in from outside, they often say it’s the most stunning county.”

Northampton’s relative anonymity is also down to a lack of promotion, Miller suggests. “There’s been very little effort to get us out there. It’s a shame there hasn’t been a fully supported and financed countywide tourism operation from the local government in recent years. In one of the colour supplements recently, I saw a focus on places you could reach within an hour of London. It had every county you could think of but Northamptonshire was interestingly missing. That happens a lot.”

Fotheringhay - getty
Fotheringhay - getty

Many locals argue that Northampton could go toe-to-toe with the Cotswolds. “Certainly, if you want handsome stone-built villages and quiet pubs, the 1920s take on the Cotswolds, we’ve got that in plentitude,” says Miller. “We also have an extraordinary number of historic houses and their art collections.”

The more you look, the more you realise the Force is strong with this region. There’s plenty happening, including 24 Guildhall, the ambitious new home for NN Contemporary Art Gallery, set for completion in Northampton town in Spring 2022. Nearby, the new Guildhall Hotel, slated to open in early 2021 close to the town’s Royal & Derngate theatres, is set in an area that’s been dubbed Northampton’s ‘Cultural Quarter’.

The Falcon Hotel (thefalcon-castleashby.com), is another new addition. It will launch this September on the 11,000-acre Castle Ashby estate, featuring modern takes on classical French cooking at their new Eyas restaurant from Head Chef Mark Lawton.

It’s another boost for the county’s foodie scene, which recently saw the opening of Hibiscus (thehospitality.co.uk/hibiscus), billed as Northampton’s first fine dining restaurant, at Delapré Abbey. “The county has an abundance of wonderful produce, from herbs to honey,” says Samuel Squires, Hibiscus’ Executive Chef. “We have amazing food scenes in Northamptonshire, from the street food festival we had on the grounds of the abbey to stunning Indian restaurants, like Saffron, to proper country pubs, like The Griffin’s Head in Mears Ashby.”

Aynhoe Park - getty
Aynhoe Park - getty

Northamptonshire’s strongest selling point, though, is the peaceful countryside. Destination Nene Valley (nenevalley.net) are working to get more people exploring the River Nene. Here you can find everything from bird habitats to medieval villages, with possibilities for cycling, walking, canoeing and paddle-boarding. The vast majority of the Jurassic Way walking route from Banbury to Stamford is also in Northamptonshire and many of the county’s walks and bike rides link up with great country pubs.

“Northampton is absolutely under-rated,” says David Askew, who runs the Northamptonshire Walks website (northamptonshirewalks.co.uk). “There’s no end of cracking walks. We’ve got a fantastic canal system and while we don’t have mountains, we have rolling countryside. There are many woodlands including Badby Woods and Fineshade Wood, and the villages are stunning. I can see why people say it’s like the Cotswolds, especially around Aynho, which has the yellowy stonework of the cottages.

“There’s also the history. I could take you on a walk around Ashby St Ledges where you take in The Manor House, where Catesby and Guy Fawkes plotted to blow up parliament. Another great walk is the Fotheringhay Circuit, which takes in the castle mound at Fotheringhay; Mary Queen of Scots was executed there and Richard III was born there. There’s so much that I’ve found out since I’ve been walking, and I’m still finding out things today.”

Whatever makes your perfect staycation destination, Northamptonshire likely has it in spades – and with much smaller crowds.